Radars are useful devices that can detect and track objects, map surfaces, and display weather patterns. While radar is a common tool used in military and air traffic control operations, technological advances are making it possible to integrate radars in electronic devices. In many cases, a radar may replace bulky and expensive sensors, such as a camera, and provide improved performance in the presence of different environmental conditions, such as low lighting, motion, or overlapping targets. While it may be advantageous to use the radar, there are many challenges associated with using radar in commercial devices and commercial applications.
One such problem involves integrating and operating the radar in the presence of an attenuator. The attenuator may include an exterior housing of the electronic device or another external material that attenuates or distorts a radar signal. As available power may be limited in small and mobile radar systems, compensating for the attenuation by increasing the transmitted power may not be possible. As such, the attenuator degrades performance of the radar by decreasing an effective range, limiting the ability to detect smaller targets, and reducing tracking accuracy. Consequently, the effective operation and capability of the radar can be significantly reduced due to the attenuator, thereby frustrating users or limiting the types of applications or environments the radar can support.